A Mothering Sunday service

 BURTON JOYCE 

COMMUNITY CHURCH

A short service for use at home 

Mothering Sunday, March 14^th 2021

prepared specially for us by Dinah

Hymns from Songs of Fellowship (SoF)

As we meet together to share worship this morning, let us remember the words of Isaiah:   

For this is what the Lord says: as a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you (Ch 66)

  And in Psalm 91 we read: 

The Lord will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge

Welcome to another lockdown Mothering Sunday!  

I am sure we are all happy to wrap ourselves up in the words of Isaiah, and snuggle down under the feathers of the Lord, finding refuge and comfort. So, let’s begin with our traditional Mothering Sunday hymn.

Let’s sing – SoF 405

Now thank we all our God

Let’s say together the Song of St Anselm:  

Gather your little ones to you O God, as a hen gathers her chicks to protect them.   

Jesus, like a mother you gather your people to you, you are gentle with us as a mother with her children.   

Often you weep over our sins and our pride – tenderly you draw us from hatred and judgement.   

You comfort us in sorrow and bind up our wounds, in sickness you nurse us and with pure milk you feed us.

We bring our confessions to God this morning:  

Lord we are so aware of all the things we have not done this week to support and mother and comfort others;  we recognise that we can selfishly believe that our needs come first, that our safety and comfort is more important.  

Lord help us to use the skills and the technology you have given us to care for others, to use the wealth you have given us to share our well-being with others, to use  our prayer time with you to hold the needs of others up to you.  

Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Let’s sing – SoF 329

Let there be love shared among us (twice!)

Reflection

We all know the stories behind Mothering Sunday, fixed in March because it chimed with an existing pagan festival for the mother of the Roman Gods;  used to celebrate Mother Church and bring congregations together over the last thousand years, and now the excuse for a commercial bonanza of cards and flowers and chocolates.  

What is it to each one of us? What is it to you?  

I am sure that we all recognise that mothering is something that is not exclusive to mothers; that loving and caring for, and organising, and forgiving, and disciplining are gifts that we all have within us – male and female, young and old, parent and child.  

I am becoming more and more aware that I am being mothered by my children, bless them, and now occasionally by my grandchildren!  And I am missing the mothering I used to be able to do in the chaplaincy at Park House, often over coffee with complete strangers, some even older than me!  There are times when we all need a smile, or a hand to hold.  

There’s a reading from 2 Corinthians chapter one, verse three

All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah!  Father of all mercy!  God of all healing counsel!   

He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside some else who is going through hard times, so that we can be there for that person, just as God was there for us.   (From: The Message)

He brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times

Of course at the moment we are rarely alongside anyone but our partner, or our bubble partner, but we are only too aware that there are plenty of people going through far harder times than us:  those working on the emergency and covid wards who are exhausted and drained by the long hours and the intensity of their experiences;  those who are seeing businesses, to which they have given all their working lives, failing, and who are helpless to change things;  those who are watching the health of elderly family members deteriorating but who have been unable to visit or touch them;  others who have had family members in hospital, dying without their family around them.  

So many people, so many needs – it would be easy to feel overwhelmed and helpless – but I remember when I went through a difficult time after Geoff died how much the odd smile meant, each greeting melting some of the ice inside.  

We can start small, with the stranger that the Lord puts in our path, and move onwards as the opportunity occurs, to share some of that Mother love that was recognised by Isaiah and the Psalmist, and which we have all experienced.  

And so, we pray for 

all who are in need of comfort – mental, physical or spiritual

all who are exhausted, sick with worry about family, housing, or work 

all who are facing unimaginable demands in their responsibilities in government and organisations  

And we sum it all up with the Lord’s Prayer.  Amen.  Amen

Let’s finish with a hymn SoF 520

Tell out my soul

Blessing

May the Lord whose steadfast love is constant as a mother’s care send us out to live and work for others.  

Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.  Amen